Bandits place second at interleague tournaments

South Big Horn Little League’s majors and minors team each lost in the championship games of their respective interleague tournaments held last week in Powell and Lovell.

The majors entered as the top seed in the six-team field and beat the Powell Pirates 3-0 Thursday before losing by the same score to the Lovell Yankees in Friday’s title game.

The Bandits and the Yankees split their regular season games, with Yanks taking the first game and the Bandits the second. 

“We’re two pretty evenly matched team,” said Will Houchin, the team’s coach. “We probably had a few more kids getting on base than they did, but (their) baserunning was more aggressive than ours.”

Korbin Stewart and Quaide Houchin pitched well for the Bandits, limiting the Yankees to just three runs; Houchin said all their tallies came on passed balls and/or errors.

Houchin said he’d like to see his team run the bases the same way.

“When we get on base, we have belief in ourselves and trust our speed,” he said. “They don’t want to make an out, so we just have to build up their confidence.  We want to be a team known for running the bases well.”

In their Thursday night win over the Pirate, the Bandits got a pair of runs in the second and another in the fourth while Stewart and Quaide Houchin combined on a five-inning shutout.

Kingston Schedler was credited with a two-run, inside-the-park home run to lead the attack.

The Bandits are entered in a tournament this weekend in Cody with games Friday at 8 a.m. against Powell and at 10 a.m. against North Big Horn and Saturday at 8 a.m. against Lander.  Tournament play will follow with games at 10 a.m., noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m.

Houchin knows his team will be tested like never before, but adds, “We’re excited to be able to play some other teams ... and any day you can play baseball is a good day.

“Our motto is, ‘Don’t worry about what just happened; here comes another one.’ Just keep looking forward.”

Minors

The Bandit minors saw their magical run end in a 9-4 loss to the Lovell Dodgers Thursday night in Powell.  Prior to that, they’d reeled off four straight wins.

Coach Edgar Hernandez said he was proud of his team and second place finish, but lamented some missed opportunities in the championship game.

“We need to do a better job of teaching the kids how to read the next play — as in, when there are runners on base, what are you going to do if the ball is hit to you?” he said.  “It’s the thinking part of the game and it hurt us a little.”

The Dodgers led wire to wire, plating two in the first and another in the second before the Bandits broke through for their first run in the top of the third. The Dodgers hung three-spots on the board in the third and fifth to pull away.

Conner DeShazer pitched the first two innings for the Bandits, giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit while striking out three.  Jace Davidson worked the final three, allowing five six runs, five earned, on five hits while fanning eight.

Crandall Whitaker let the attack with a pair of hits; Buxston Shipley, James Tanner and DeShazer each had one.

The Bandits were scheduled to play in Thermopolis Tuesday night and will compete in the same tournament as the majors this weekend in Cody.  On Friday, they face the host Cubs at 9 a.m., Powell at 3 p.m. and North Big Horn at 5 p.m.